Driven by benefits of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Uzbekistan profits
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| Countries other than ill-deserving small oil-rich states which have benefited from the consequences of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine are few and far between. But one of the least discussed states in Asia may be one of them. It is Uzbekistan. At first glance, it might seem surprising that a doubly-landlocked state which was once close to being the poorest republic in the former Soviet Union has been modestly thriving despite the war and the preceding Covid-19 pandemic. But according to the International Monetary Fund, its economy is set to grow at 5.2 percent this year and a forecast of 4.7 percent for 2023. Its medium-term growth has averaged 5.5 percent with a low of 1.9 percent in the pandemic year 2020 and high of 7.4 percent the following year. That is necessarily from a low start with a current per capita income of around US$1,300 compared with mineral-rich Kazakhstan’s US$9,600. Its population is also still close to 40 percent rural despite decades of urbanization efforts in Soviet days…
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